Canada denied diplomatic visa for a Chinese political operative last fall: Joly
Foreign Affairs minister says the move was 'obviously' the right thing to do
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada denied a diplomatic visa application for a Chinese political operative last fall.
Joly made the comment before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa Thursday. The procedure and House affairs committee is studying foreign interference in Canada's elections.
"When China wanted to send a political operative last fall, we decided to deny a visa. Which obviously is the right thing to do," Joly told the committee.
Earlier in the day, the Globe and Mail reported that the Chinese government had applied for a visa for a new position at its embassy in Ottawa, which it called the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
A source with knowledge of the decision who was not authorized to speak publicly told CBC News Global Affairs Canada concluded the posting was not a diplomatic one and was suspicious.
The source said the department believes the new role was meant to allow a political operative from the Communist Party to come to Canada.
Joly sparred with Conservative MPs about whether Canada has expelled any Chinese diplomats.
"One visa denied, not a single diplomat expelled. Hardly the actions of a government that takes Beijing's interference seriously," said MP Michael Cooper.
Joly argued expulsions come with ramifications for Canadian diplomats as well.
"For any expulsion there is an expulsion afterwards of us in China and right now our biggest challenge is to understand how China operates, how they plan, how they work," she said.
"I believe profoundly in the importance of diplomacy and our diplomats. More than ever we need capacity. We need eyes and ears on the ground."
MPs call on Cooper to apologize to Joly
Joly said the issue has been raised along diplomatic lines and came up in a recent meeting with her counterpart, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, during a G20 meeting in New Delhi earlier this month.
"I was extremely clear. I looked him in the eyes and said to him, first, we will never tolerate any form of foreign interference in our democracy and international affairs," she said.
That spurred Cooper to respond with comments that were later called out as "demeaning."
"You've talked tough with your Beijing counterparts, so you say. You even stared into his eyes," Cooper said during an exchange with Joly.
"I am sure he was very intimidated."
NDP MP Rachel Blaney said the comment, aimed at a woman in a position of power, was "shameful."
"I remember at the very beginning of my career being asked if I was tough enough to do the job. And I think it's absolutely devastating that that sort of frame of reference would be used in this way," she said.
As the committee wound down, Liberal MP Jennifer O'Connell rose on a point of order and called on Cooper to apologize for the "constant demeaning nature that only occurs to our female minister that appeared today."
"There's a lot of things around this place that make me puke in my mouth often," said Liberal MP Bardish Chagger, chair of the committee.
"We can be better than this."
Cooper did not apologize before Chagger suspended the meeting. He later sent an statement to CBC defending his comments.
"My comments had nothing to do with the minister's gender and everything to do with the lack of action by her and her government to hold the regime in Beijing accountable for interfering in our elections," he said in an email from his office. "My comments apply equally to the Prime Minister and her Liberal predecessors in the role."
Thursday's meeting was just the latest back-and-forth between the government and the opposition about the Liberals' response to Chinese interference.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre — and members of the press gallery — tried multiple times Wednesday to get the prime minister to respond to allegations that he and his national security adviser were warned that Chinese government officials were funnelling money to Canadian political candidates.
According to reporting by Global News, the Privy Council Office prepared a report for the Trudeau government warning that Chinese officials in Toronto had disbursed money to a "covert network tasked to interfere in Canada's 2019 election."
"A large clandestine transfer of funds earmarked for the federal election from the PRC Consulate in Toronto was transferred to an elected provincial government official via a staff member of a 2019 federal candidate," the report says, according to Global.
Global reported similar allegations back in November — that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) briefed Trudeau in January 2022 on Chinese efforts to interfere in that election. The interference reportedly included the Chinese government sending money to at least 11 candidates.
"We have no information on any federal candidates receiving money from China. That is still the case," Trudeau said in the House of Commons Wednesday.
Trudeau said he can't delve into issues of national security and suggested a recently announced special rapporteur and two intelligence agencies are better placed to answer questions about foreign interference.
Global also reported on information it said came from Canada's National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, which reviews national security matters and whose members are sworn to secrecy.
Government House leader Mark Holland said that is alarming.
"I am deeply concerned that classified information in this country would be treated with such carelessness," he told reporters Thursday.
The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency, one of the country's intelligence watchdogs, announced Thursday that it would be conducting a review of how CSIS assessed intelligence relating to foreign interference in the previous two elections.
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With files from Ashley Burke
